(q)Spiritualised keyboard tinkler Thighpaulsandra is no longer an associate of Julian Cope since "The Arch Prude" took exception to the cover art of one of his (Thighpaulsandra's)solo albums of improvised prog kraut electronic space music, which featured some engorged male organs, and has refused to have anything to do with him ever since.(q)

Well, that's pretty much the story as far as TPS tells it. But then, Cope's got nearly 30 years history of "going off" collaborators, and none of the stories why really make a great deal of sense. It's just something that he does.

Q: Didn’t your recently released Double Vulgar II take a while to come out due to problems with the artwork?

You could say that. We had problems getting it pressed and I’ve also got a bit of a feud going with Julian Cope at the moment! Beta-Lactum Records sent him a promo and through that he’s kind of disassociated himself from me. Unfortunately he won’t speak to me about it but he speaks to other people about it and he’s said things like “I can’t be associated with things like this, I’ve got a family”.

[The full artwork for Double Vulgar II features an erect penis, two pictures of bare bottoms, Thighpaulsandra with his hand in someone’s mouth and a man with blood running down the side of his head.]

What annoys me about it is that he won’t confront me directly about it, and won’t take my calls or answer my emails. I’ve heard all this indirectly! But he’s ‘not spoken’ to me before so it’s a bit difficult to tell whether I will fall back in favour at some point.

If you listen to 'You Gotta Problem...' he seems to be off his metal phase...least I didn't hear much metal in that record. It's his most inconsistent record ever, though, and I love it all the more for it.